“It’s just like any other day.”
“You care a little too much about your birthday.”
“I think you put more stock in your birthday than my Kindergarteners. That’s sad, you know that, right?”
This last observation came courtesy of my mom, who is in fact a Kindergarten teacher. The other comments were uttered at some point or another during my month-long birthday countdown by my roommates/friends/sister.
I’m not sure what it is exactly, but it’s sadly true: I have always loved my birthday in an unnatural, five-year-old-child-who-just-arrived-at-Disney-World way (and I am pretty obsessed with all things Disney). Deep down, I know that it’s a regular day of the week, nothing special.
Upon further examination, I might look forward to my birthday so much because it breaks up the monotony of a fairly boring time of the year. Think about it: what does March have to offer (besides St. Patrick’s Day)? March is (a) usually still cold; (b) void of any majorly exciting, family-gathering-type holidays (think Thanksgiving status); and (c) smack-dab in the middle of the school year, typically at a test-heavy time.
Heavy introspection aside as to the reasons why, I still get excited when March rolls around, even though I’ve had some disappointing b-days in the past (picture crying into cupcakes). Even for this past birthday, for example, I turned…22. Not the legally novel opportunities of 21, not the new decade happiness of 20…nope, 22. Nothing remotely interesting occurs as a result of being 22, besides people screaming/quoting those infamous Taylor Swift lyrics at you: “I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU…”
So, last Monday, March 3rd, I turned a whopping twenty-two years of age. And, for the first time in forever (shout-out to the lyrics from one of my Disney favorites, Frozen), I actually had a birthday worthy of all my pent-up birthday hype.
First of all, two words: snow day! Even though I hail from the freezing, barren woods of Connecticut, I’ve actually never had a snow day on my birthday before. I watched the first season of Heroes on Netflix, and generally stayed in my pajamas all day. It was amazing.
Second of all, my family totally and completely went above-and-beyond this year. For ages, I’ve wanted to see a Broadway show for my birthday. I fully consider myself a “theater kid,” and am always ecstatic to watch a professional production. I also lived in New York City for three months this past summer, but even before that, I’ve always called NYC “my city” just because I like absolutely everything about it (and because it’s fairly close – about two hours away from my home-home). But, of course, ticket prices for a Broadway show are more-often-than-not through the roof – especially when ordered beforehand as opposed to standing in line at the Time Square Ticket Booth.
This year, however, Aladdin opens on Broadway. And as anyone who knows me can attest, I’m a Disney nerd; I love Disney World, Disney movies, ABC, Marvel (now a part of Disney)… Anyway, because Aladdin hasn’t even premiered yet – the official date is March 20th – tickets have been a lot cheaper than normal. So, when I opened the small envelope containing my birthday gift for this year, there was (*drumroll*) a ticket to go see Aladdin on Broadway during my spring break. The best part? My mom and sister are coming too.
So, to give my birthday gushing a moral: sometimes, something that you look forward to might not meet previous, and possibly ridiculous, expectations (which has definitely happened to me several times). But other times, something that you’ve been waiting for just might exceed your expectations.
As Disney proposes, dreams can come true, after all.
